Georgia
Georgia lawmakers outline plan to ban transgender athletes in Georgia high schools and colleges
A state Senate panel unveiled recommendations Friday morning aimed at stopping transgender athletes from playing in girl’s sports in high schools and colleges.
The five recommendations call for the creation of rules stating that people assigned male at birth cannot participate in women’s sports and requiring schools that host athletic events to provide changing facilities based on sex at birth as well as taking away the authority of high school athletic associations to regulate participation in girls’ sports and giving it to the state legislature.
The recommendations, which could also apply to private school teams when they play public schools, say the Senate should provide enforcement options for people who feel aggrieved by a school’s changing room policy, including opening schools up to lawsuits and withholding state funding to schools that do not comply.
“It is indisputable that there are biological differences between men and women,” said committee chair Greg Dolezal, a Cumming Republican. “Those biological differences result in men being able to jump higher, throw farther, run faster, swim faster, do a number of other things due to the increased bone density, larger heart, larger lung capacity, the increased muscle mass that resulted in Title IX and the recognition that we needed to have a category that was carved out specific to women.”
“We can both treat people respectfully, but we can also have an eye towards fairness in the legislative process, and that is what I hope to do as we move forward with this,” he said.
The recommendations could find their way into legislative proposals next year. Lawmakers are set to begin the annual legislative session Jan. 13, and bills targeting transgender youth have gotten traction in recent years.
This year, LGBTQ advocates celebrated at the end of the legislation when bills they described as anti-LGBTQ, including some targeting sports participation and gender-affirming medical care, fell by the wayside in the final hour. But the year before, lawmakers passed a bill banning hormone treatments care for most transgender minors, and in 2022, they sent Gov. Brian Kemp a bill leaving the decision of whether to include transgender girl athletes to the Georgia High School Association.
Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who presides over the state Senate, has put his support behind bills aimed at transgender children. The state House has taken a more skeptical stance on the issue, but House Speaker Jon Burns recently told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he would support a ban on transgender athletes.
Jeff Graham, executive director of the LGBTQ advocacy group Georgia Equality, said he’s longing for the leadership of former speaker David Ralston, who died in 2022.
“I am carrying around the quote from the late speaker, David Ralston, when the legislation passed two years ago that gave the Georgia High School Association the authority to set rules and regulations that he did not want to see transgender kids targeted. I wish that the level-headed compassion of Speaker Ralston can be brought back to this legislative session in 2025,” he said.
Speaking to reporters after Friday’s hearing, Graham said the number of student athletes directly affected by the bill may be tiny, but such legislation makes transgender people feel targeted and unwanted.
“The goal of the Legislature, I would like to think, is we could find common ground trying to make the world better for all kids in Georgia,” he said. “It’s easy to scapegoat some kids and in this instance, transgender kids, for discrimination, and open the door to make their life worse,” he said.
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It can be hard to find a truly unique experience for your next vacation. That’s where Travel + Leisure comes in.
Back in May, members of the publication’s team created a list in celebration of America’s 250th Fourth of July, highlighting a unique experience in each state “from hidden gems to iconic highlights and editor-approved favorites.”
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Most unique experience in Georgia
The Georgia spot highlighted was the World of Quercus. Here’s what writer Lydia Mansel said about it:
“The 3,800-acre property, dotted with pecan groves and cabins, isn’t your run-of-the-mill retreat. Guests are encouraged to roam the land by golf cart or on foot, visit the biodynamic vegetable garden, fish the Flint River, and connect with the ranch’s horses. Owned by Chiara Visconti di Modrone and her husband Angelos Pervanas, Quercus is a place where relaxation comes in many forms—and you can design your experience to fit your pace and preferences.”
Where is Quercus?
Quercus is in Gay at 208 Caldwell St. It’s about 30 miles east of LaGrange and over 50 miles south of Atlanta.
How much is Quercus per night?
The Sylva, Ember, and Cypress cabins are $2,700 per night. The Naya cabin is $4,500 per night.
Unique experiences in the South
- Alabama: Freedom Monument Sculpture Park
- Florida: Greater Florida Everglades
- Georgia: Quercus
- Kentucky: Kentucky African American Heritage Trail
- Louisiana: New Orleans Museum of Art
- Missouri: Anheuser-Busch Brewery
- Mississippi: Vikin’s Mississippi Delta Explorer
- North Carolina: Good Hot Fish
- South Carolina: Casual Crabbing with Tia
- Tennessee: Blackberry Farm
- Virginia: Chincoteague Island
- West Virginia: New River Gorge National Park
Miguel Legoas is a Deep South Connect Team Reporter for USA Today. Find him on Instagram @miguelegoas and email at mlegoas@gannett.com.
APPLING COUNTY, Ga. (WCYB) — The co-owner of Yurezz Home Center in Greeneville has been arrested in Georgia, according to a report obtained by News 5.
Earlier this week, News 5 told you about the dealership in Greeneville that abruptly shut down last month.
This has left homeowners with partially built homes and employees without jobs.
It is not yet clear why Richard Altman was taken into custody.
This is a developing story.
Georgia
Georgia Supreme Court upholds convictions of men in deadly shooting during gas station carjacking
Two men found guilty of murdering a man while he was pumping air into his tires at a Georgia gas station will remain in prison, the Georgia Supreme Court has ruled.
Miles Chatezal Collins and Josiah Hughley, Jr. had appealed to the state’s highest court after they were found guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault, violating Georgia’s Street Gang, Terrorism and Prevention Act, and hijacking a motor vehicle, among other charges in 2025.
The men’s charges stem from a shooting on July 10, 2022, at a QuickTrip gas station in Peachtree Corners. According to the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office, 30-year-old Bradley Lamar Coleman had stopped at the gas station to fill up his tires when Collins, Hughley, and a third man pulled up beside him and tried to steal his Dodge Charger.
When Coleman tried to stop the men, officials say they shot him and fled the scene.
Authorities say the three men were members of the Blood gang and had tried to steal the car to increase their status.
While their first trial ended in a mistrial due to a comment by the prosecution, a jury found Collins, Hughley, and their co-defendant, David Jarrad Booker, guilty of more than a dozen charges in 2025. They were each sentenced to life plus 145 years in prison.
In Collins and Hughley’s appeal to the state Supreme Court, they argued that there was insufficient evidence to support some of the charges and that the judge in the case improperly admitted certain evidence and committed errors in instructing the jurors.
The justices’ rulings disagreed, finding that their attorneys failed to object to the supposed errors and that the two men’s claims were insufficient.
The judges also found that a claim by Hughley that his counsel failed him by not asserting that a statement made to law enforcement should have been suppressed. With those findings, the Supreme Court chose not to overrule the case, letting the convictions and sentences stand.
“We are grateful for this affirmation from the Georgia Supreme Court,” Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. “Thanks to the incredible work of our team of trial and appellate prosecutors, and all of the staff that assisted with defending these convictions, two dangerous criminals will remain in prison.”
Booker’s appeal remains pending.
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